Mastering And The Loudness War

Have you ever listened to a track or album that just felt too loud? Not in terms of volume, because even after turning it down, it still felt like too much. What we mean is when a track sounds like everything is smashed and squeezed together, with not enough space for individual elements to breathe.

This effect is a result of what is commonly known as the loudness war, a widely known term among those involved in mastering that revolves around the ongoing struggle between achieving maximum loudness while preserving a track’s dynamics and clarity.

Before we continue, it’s important that we’re on the same page when talking about loudness. In the context of mastering, loudness is not the same as turning up the volume knob to the max. Instead, it refers to perceived loudness—how loud a track feels when you listen to it.

Loudness is about balancing how powerful and full a song sounds while preserving its natural dynamics and clarity, so it feels impactful without tiring out the listener. These aspects are shaped and controlled with tools like compressors and techniques like adjusting the dynamic range (the difference between the quietest and loudest parts of a track).

If you’re new to mastering, be sure to check out our article ‘What is Mastering?’ for a detailed introduction.

Although loudness has been a topic in the past, the war around it began with the rise of the CD format in the 1980s and 1990s. Together with other technological developments, CDs allowed engineers to master music louder than during the age of vinyl and tape, which came with more physical and technical limitations.

The trend was also strongly influenced by TV and radio commercials. Some of you may remember how annoying it was to watch a film or show at a comfortable volume, only to rush for the remote the moment the ads came in. This (not necessarily successful) strategy of increasing the volume of ads was implemented to capture the attention of the audience.

Borrowing from this approach, record labels began making their music louder to compete, especially on the radio and in stores. The intention was to draw more attention on the radio and in playlists. As a result, engineers started using more aggressive compression and limiting while simultaneously reducing the dynamic range, and ultimately sparked what became known as the loudness war.

Sonically, this approach often led to heavily compressed and squashed tracks. When engineers pushed tracks to be as loud as possible, they simultaneously reduced the dynamic range, which led to the quiet parts and loud parts having almost the same volume. This made songs sound flat, fatiguing, and less detailed. Distortion and clipping could occur if levels were pushed too far, flattening or chopping waveforms and leading to harshness. As a result, many listeners found the music less enjoyable and more tiring to listen to over time.

A frequently used example of the loudness war is Metallica’s 9th studio album ‘Death Magnetic.’ The following video breaks it down in detail—we suggest comparing the harsh 2008 version with the Guitar Hero and 2015 versions to get a better understanding of the differences between the masters.

Once CDs began to decline, the rise of streaming platforms like Spotify or Apple Music and the introduction of loudness normalization once again reshaped the way mastering is done. Initially, this approach was not a standard practice among streaming platforms, meaning that louder masters still had an advantage. However, as more and more people began flocking to streaming services, platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube adopted loudness normalization to create a more consistent listening experience across songs, regardless of how they were mastered.

But what exactly is loudness normalization?

Loudness normalization is a practice that automatically adjusts all tracks to a consistent perceived loudness level to create a more balanced and enjoyable listening experience. Perceived loudness is measured in LUFS, which stands for Loudness Units Full Scale. Unlike peak level, which only tells you how loud the loudest part is, LUFS measures how loud a track actually feels to listeners over time. It takes into account the frequency content, duration, and dynamic range of the audio. This approach is much closer to how our ears perceive loudness than simple volume meters.

There are a few different types of LUFS readings:

• Integrated LUFS, the average loudness of the entire track.

• Short-term LUFS, the average loudness over a short window (like 3 seconds).

• Momentary LUFS, the loudness at any given instant.

In mastering, Integrated LUFS is the key target. If your track is too loud (e.g., -8 LUFS), platforms like Spotify or Apple Music will turn it down, and if the track is overly compressed, it can sound dull or lifeless compared to more dynamic masters. If it’s too quiet, it might get turned up, but can sound weak next to other tracks

While the loudness war as we knew it might be fading, the debate over how loud music should be continues. Streaming platforms have helped reduce the incentive to master tracks as loud as possible by normalizing perceived loudness, but they’ve also introduced new challenges. Since each platform has its own LUFS target and normalization method, mastering engineers now have to carefully balance loudness, dynamics, and tonal balance to make sure the track translates well everywhere.

Some genres and producers still aim for aggressive loudness to achieve a certain energy or punch, often at the expense of dynamic range. However, today’s professional mastering practices are more nuanced, focusing on how the music feels across different platforms and devices, not just how loud it is on the meters.

In 2025, successful mastering requires balancing loudness with dynamics and clarity. Instead of aiming for maximum loudness, focus on targeting appropriate LUFS levels for your release platforms, and avoid clipping by keeping true peaks below -1.0 dBTP, which is recommended by most streaming services. This way, you can also preserve dynamics for the emotional impact and overall listening experience.

If you’re not sure what the exact expectations are, you can always look into mastering guides provided by some streaming platforms, such as Spotify’s loudness normalization guide. Finally, make sure you test your masters on multiple devices and platforms to check for consistency and detect any potential issues.

Note: Loudness standards continue to evolve as technology and listening habits change, so staying updated is key.

FabFilter Pro-L 2 – Transparent limiter with LUFS, true peak metering, and streaming platform presets.

Youlean Loudness Meter 2 – Accurate, easy-to-use LUFS and true peak meter (free & pro versions).

iZotope Ozone 11 – All-in-one mastering suite with dynamic EQ, maximizer, and codec preview.

StandardCLIP (SIR Audio Tools) – Clean or soft clipping to control peaks before limiting.

NUGEN MasterCheck – Simulates how your master will sound on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and more.

iMusician Instant Mastering – Online audio mastering tool with genre-based presets, unlimited free previews before download, and quick results.